Homeownership Month Celebrations in Traver, California

Self-Help Enterprises celebrated National Homeownership Month and NeighborWorks Week in Traver, CA on June 22, 2017. Attendees at the event included Joyce Allen, USDA Rural Development Deputy Administrator for Single Family Housing, and Gary Wolfe, NeighborWorks America Western Region Vice President. During the celebration, Self-Help Enterprises recognized over 150 youth and adults from the La Casa de Cristo Church in Scottsdale, AZ, who volunteered for four days (June 19-22) to help families in Traver build their own homes.

Under Self-Help Enterprises’ supervision, 11 families are building their own homes through the Mutual Self-Help Housing program in Traver, CA. Families are projected to move into the Traver, CA subdivision in March 2018. Working with the County, Self-Help Enterprises purchased and developed the subdivision. The County is developing plans to improve the community’s infrastructure. In addition, Family HealthCare Network has completed a health clinic facility on a nearby site.

The Mutual Self-Help Housing program is essential for rural communities like Traver, which lack new affordable housing options. Working in groups of nine to 12, Mutual Self-Help families provide over 70 percent of the construction labor on their homes, contributing at least 40 hours a week towards completion. These labor hours count as “sweat equity,” which helps to bring down the construction costs and is used as a down payment on the home.

Self-Help Enterprises, a National Rural Housing Coalition member organization, has pioneered the Mutual Self-Help Housing program. Since its founding in 1965, Self-Help Enterprises has helped more than 6,200 families in the San Joaquin Valley build their own homes.

For more information about Self-Help Enterprises, please visit their website.